The Story

ACT 1

Sweets provides psychological counsel to the Grave Digger as she is transported to court to appeal her death sentence. He is uncomfortable as the Grave Digger tries to rattle him, calling him the "weakest link" and saying that Sweets reminds her of her victims. Sweets is thankful when they finally make it to the courthouse. An angry mob has gathered to protest. They DO NOT want Taffet to win her appeal.

Booth and Caroline Julian are waiting for the police transport van. But there is something wrong with the gate to the parking garage. What does Taffet have up her sleeve? Guards move to unload their prisoner in the middle of the protest. As Taffet is being led away, her HEAD EXPLODES! Her skull and brain splatter the ground, the van and Sweets. Protesters run for cover. Booth catches sight of James Kent, the father of two of the Grave Digger's victim. He has a video camera and he stands, unmoving, watching the whole scene.

Brennan arrives on scene as Booth tries to do damage control. He didn't see the shooter. All the skull fragments will be sent to the Jeffersonian. Booth hurries off. Where is he going? Brennan follows as Booth finds the bullet in a nearby wall. This was a powerful rifle. He tries to trace where the shot came from and sees a police sniper standing on top of a building.

ACT 2

Cam explains to Wendell that when a speeding bullet hits its target, in some instances the shockwaves cause an explosion. It's called hydrostatic shock. Hodgins arrives with the recovered bullet. It is squashed almost beyond recognition and appears to be made of pure copper.

At the FBI, Booth is bothered. He never heard the shot. Caroline thinks the crowd was too loud but Booth thinks it was because the shot came from a long way away. The sharpshooters on the roof next door were cleared after their rifles were checked. Caroline suggests Booth use the microphones installed all over town to record gunfire. Booth is familiar with the system: the Spot Shotter. He has requested that the recordings be sent to the Jeffersonian. Meanwhile, he will speak to James Kent. Caroline has another suspect on her list: Max Keenan. He's tried to kill Taffet before...and Booth should consider himself a suspect as well.

Sweets listens to a recording of his conversation with Taffet over and over. "Everyone knows who's the weakest link." Booth interrupts to check on him. Sweets says that he feels relieved. Taffet can't hurt anyone else. Booth isn't sure Sweets is as fine as he claims. He tells him to take the day off. Sweets goes back to his tape recorder when Booth leaves.

Booth sits down with James Kent in his office. The Grave Digger buried Kent's twin boys alive. He couldn't even identify their bodies. Kent explains that he stood with the families of Taffet's other victims at the protest. Some of them were going to testify. Now, that won't ever happen. He hands over his video camera to Booth. He knew Booth would want it. Booth is dubious.

In the Bone Room, Brennan presents Wendell with instructions to reconstruct the skull. She gets a call from her father. Max claims he is in Maui, though the snow surrounding the pay phone he is using suggests otherwise. He DID NOT kill the Grave Digger. Brennan wants proof. Max admits he is actually in New Hampshire. Brennan is not happy about the lie. Max asks Brennan to proclaim his innocence but she hangs up to confer with Angela.

At the FBI, Booth and Caroline watch the video footage from James Kent. Booth believes the shot is coming from the South or Southwest. Brennan arrives with the bullet. Angela did a rendering: the bullet weighed 12 grams and was made of pure copper... by hand. This was a professional hit.

ACT 3

At the Lab, Wendell presents the skull to Angela, which spins on a rotating base and depicts the head mid-explosion. He indicates the entry and exit wounds. They will help determine trajectory. As Angela moves to the Angelatron, she comments that she doesn't think Max is the killer. Max is happy to hear that as he saunters into the room. Where is Brennan? She should be back any minute from seeing Booth. Before Max rushes to meet her, he asks about his daughter's love life. Angela reveals that Booth and Brennan aren't a couple.

Brennan tells Max that Booth is seeing another woman. He is familiar with Hannah's work as a journalist but thinks his daughter is smarter and prettier. Brennan doesn't want to talk about it. Max pulls out receipts to prove he wasn't around at the time of the murder. Brennan believes him.

Booth is not convinced of Max's innocence. Brennan doesn't think her father has the skill to execute this murder. They arrive at the courthouse where Brennan and Booth "reenact" the crime. Brennan points in the direction of the shot. Booth recognizes a building: Statler & Harmon. It's the law firm at which one of their suspects works. Harvey Morster was a lawyer who became a paralegal after Taffet had him disbarred. He served in the Gulf and tested as an expert marksman.

Angela and Cam listen to the recordings from the Spot Shotter System. Each microphone covers a one-mile radius. Cam and Angela narrow down the location of the shooter: 1500 yards from the site of the murder. Angela may be even be able to pinpoint an address.

At the FBI, Booth watches Harvey Morster from the Observation Room. Morster is nervous, dripping sweat. Booth knows he didn't do it. He asks for Sweets' support on the matter when Caroline Julian doesn't agree. Sweets doubts his ability to help but eventually tells them that a sniper is methodical. Harvey Morster does not match the profile. They are looking for someone whose way of looking at the world was destroyed. Booth gets a message: Angela found an address.

Booth and Brennan knock at the apartment of Tracy Leveque. She is an escort who doesn't appear to be home so Booth picks the lock. Inside, Brennan opens the window. She doesn't see the courthouse. Booth determines it was a clear shot. "Elite members of a closed community always intersect." Booth must know the man who did this. Brennan smells cleaning solution. She finds the bathtub taped shut. Booth rips off the cover to find a partially decomposed body submerged in chemicals.

ACT 4

Sweets sits alone in his car, trying to find the strength to get out. Before he can, Hodgins interrupts. He needs Sweets' opinion: he has been feeling happy that the Grave Digger is dead. It's the best thing that has happened all week. Is that normal? Angela doesn't think he should feel this way about a murder. Sweets assures Hodgins that his feelings are absolutely normal. They both agree that Heather Taffet got what she deserved.

At the Lab, Wendell works with the decomposed body of Tracy Leveque. Brennan points out that a thin knife was the cause of death. It severed her head from her spine. Wendell will create a mold to match the weapon.

In the Ookey Room, Hodgins works with drain clog remover, the substance in which the victim was submerged. It disintegrates a hot dog in nine minutes. Therefore, it took Tracy Leveque six days to dissolve.

Caroline Julian thinks this was an inside job. The public didn't know about the court hearing until the previous day. How would the shooter have known about it six days in advance? Booth has made a list of every person who could pull off this type of murder. It includes six men and he knows every single one of them.

Caroline Julian consults Sweets in his office. He has looked into the backgrounds of the new suspects. Caroline can tell something is wrong. Sweets plays the recording for her. Caroline knows the Grave Digger was trying to unnerve Sweets so he wouldn't testify. Sweets believes the plan worked. Caroline admits she was terrified during the shooting. It was the most horrifying moment of her life. But it's over now and Taffet can't get to any of them anymore. Sweets smiles.

Brennan knows that the killer murdered Tracy with his left hand. He took the shot with his right hand. He is ambidextrous. He knows how to fight in close quarters and judging by the weapon he used, he likely hunts big animals. Booth believes this describes one person: William Preston.

ACT 5

Booth and William Preston reminisce in the Interrogation Room. They joke but Preston thinks Booth called him in because he doesn't like him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be a suspect. Booth insists it is because of Preston's training. Preston has an alibi...and he knows who committed this crime. Booth does too. He simply won't admit it. Jacob Broadsky was their friend and mentor. He's been off the grid for years but either Booth made that shot...or Broadsky did.

At the FBI, Booth explains that Jacob Broadsky was a sniper who killed someone without the green light from his superior. He saved the hostage and a lot of their colleagues agreed with Broadsky's actions but it looked like officials might file charges against him. So he disappeared. Caroline gets a call: someone named Gary Gray opened a bank account and cashed a check for two million dollars hours after the shooting. James Kent withdrew the same amount from his bank account. But, Gary Gray is a famous British sniper who has been dead for a hundred years.

Booth confronts James Kent in the Interrogation Room. Kent tries to deny his involvement but Booth has the proof. He also tells Kent that an innocent woman, Tracy Leveque, was killed during this crime. Kent didn't know that would happen. He never met the shooter. He simply got a phone call. It was the shooter, asking if Kent would pay to have Taffet killed. The shooter chose the victim and set the price. All Kent did was pay...happily.

At the FBI, Booth reports that a witness was able to place Broadsky in a remote location off I-64. Booth ran a check on the plots of land in the area. It seems Broadsky purchased land under the name of another famous sniper...Seeley Booth.

ACT 6

Booth drives to Broadsky's plot of land. He gets out and looks around. It isn't long before Jacob Broadsky appears. Booth tells him it's over. Broadsky denies killing the Grave Digger. What about Tracy Leveque? Maybe she was warned to stay away and didn't listen. Broadsky starts to leave. Booth can't follow without a warrant. Booth jumps the fence. He doesn't need a warrant. This land belongs to Seeley Booth.

Broadsky runs but Booth is right behind him so Broadsky triggers an explosion, knocking Booth off his feet. Booth pulls his gun. Broadsky stands still and tells Booth to take the shot. But Booth can't do it. Broadsky walks away.

At the Diner, Booth has his arm in a sling. He tells Caroline, Max and Brennan that he was injured in the explosion and Broadsky got away. Caroline reassures Booth that they will catch him. Max sees his cab waiting outside. He thanks Brennan for believing in him. He presents her with a conch shell. Her name is painted on it and there are two holes for toothbrushes. But Brennan can still hear the ocean inside.